After using CarPlay on a couple of rental cars over the past couple of weeks I'm not impressed.
It's a very poor system and it also takes away a lot of functionality from the native car systems. You're also locked to the absolutely terrible Apple Maps which gives the most dreadful routes, and very often, Spotify or TuneIn refuse to work resulting in the need to disconnect and reconnect the USB cable.
Messages are also a chore as Siri sucks when there is any cabin noise in the car.
However most importantly, touch screen interfaces suck in cars. They are insanely dangerous when travelling at speed as they require you to change your driving posture and lean forward, removing a lot of control from the steering wheel.
Apple must do the following to make it a good option:
- FULL integration with the car
- Car computer (MPG, avg speed, etc...)
- Basic items where they are not visible on the dash such as outside temperature.
- Set-up of car systems.
- Service information
- Ability to use another GPS program such as Google Maps or Sygic, etc....
- Improve Siri when there is a lot of ambient noise
- Allow integration with physical dials.
One user noted how the BMW iDrive system was useless, but of all the systems I've used, this is the absolute best once you get used to the iDrive interface knob. I can control my system in seconds and dial numbers safely without looking away from my screen.
The interface is also miles better and more flexible than CarPlay too and I find it much safer to use.
Perhaps a personal view but every person I let try out the CarPlay in my two rental cars thought it was a pile of crap.
